The Shoprite Group recently launched a mobile bank on the down-low, making transactional banking on-the-go available to 20 million of its customers. The bank will function via the Xtra Savings rewards cards available through Shoprite and Checkers.
Customers holding the bright orange rewards cards are all eligible to access the mobile banking features. If you’re one of them, make sure to register for the Money Market Account to enable banking on your existing card.
“The Money Market Account, which was launched in August last year, has over 530 000 customers, which the group says indicates that ‘customers see its value’. The group has 24 million unique customers in the country,” TechCentral reports.
Before now, users with access to a Money Market Account were only able to deposit funds for the sole reason to buy groceries or pay utility bills. Now, Shoprite has teamed up with Grindrod Bank to bring more transactional capabilities to the account, including sending and receiving payments.
Mobile money, making marks
This makes the registration process slightly more complex — you’ll also need a South African ID (or passport) and cellphone number to sign up for an account with transactional abilities. This account can then be accessed via the Shoprite app, USSD codes or WhatsApp.
Read more: Booze on the move? Shoprite launches an online liquor store
While it looks like this exciting new mobile bank is open to everyone, there are a few limitations to discourage any illegal money practices. “Account balances cannot exceed R25 000 at any time and there is a daily limit of R5 000 each for cash withdrawals, cash deposits and transfers,” TechCentral explains.
Unlike a feature-full bank account, a mobile transactional account functions via only a mobile phone, making cash available in an instant. Think FNB’s eWallet service, but on an ongoing basis. Because it’s not a ‘flagship’ account, users won’t be able to enable debit orders or do an EFT to another account.
The account fee is limited to just R5 for withdrawing cash at the till point. That’s it. Just R5. As a launch offer, every R100 spent in-store using the Money Market Account will bank you R10 back in cash.
